HLF Member Spotlight: Dr. Arnold W. Goldschlager

"The hunter's horn sounds early for some …  later for others. For some unfortunates, prisoned by city sidewalks and sentenced to a cement jungle … the horn of the hunter never winds at all. But deep in the guts of most men is buried the involuntary response to the hunter's horn … . How meek the man is of no importance; somewhere in the pigeon chest of the clerk is still the vestigial remnant of the hunter's heart … ." – Robert Ruark, "Horn of the Hunter"

Dr. Arnold W. Goldschlager didn't become a big-game hunter until later in life, but he has certainly made up for lost time. A cardiologist in the San Francisco Bay area, Goldschlager has a theory that "people in the cities have a genetic piece of information in their DNA which keeps them linked to the hunting tradition of mankind." He goes on to explain, "It's analogous, maybe, to a domestic cat that has never had the wild experience. You can watch them when they're kittens, and they're playing hunting games. They're stalking and hunting. If you release them, most will become wild and survive. I think most men have that same hunting instinct. I was fortunate enough to recognize that. I was lucky enough to hear the horn of the hunter."

Goldschlager grew up on New York City's Lower East Side and had his first real taste of the outdoors through the Boy Scouts of America. The World War II veterans who served as scout masters in his troop taught him to be a leader and instilled within him a sense of American pride—two things  he has carried with him his entire life.

Goldschlager's leadership and patriotism took him to the U. S. Air Force where he served as chief of medicine at Selfridge Air Force Base in Michigan. It was here where the doctor got his first taste of hunting by way of the base's rod-and-gun club. A naturally good shot, Goldschlager soon graduated from clays to birds, then birds to big-game. And, for the last three decades he has hunted the world over—North and South America, Africa, Canada, Mexico, Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Argentina and the Arctic.

All told, he has hunted on five continents. Among his many accomplishments, he has taken 122 species in the Safari Club International Record Book, with 17 animals ranked in SCI's top 10 for those species. He has received SCI Grand Slam awards for the African 29, the African Big Five, Bears of the World, Cats of the World, Dangerous Game of Africa, Elk of North America, North American Deer, White-Tailed Deer and the North American 12.

But Goldschlager's hunting accomplishments go far beyond the field. In his own words, he has "used hunting as an opportunity to learn more about the world I live in." And now he's using that knowledge to help protect and defend the sport he loves. When Goldschlager was approached about becoming a member of the Hunters' Leadership Forum (HLF) he jumped at the chance to not only join, but to join at the highest level—the President's Founders Club. Last summer, at age 76, he traveled across the country to participate in the first HLF Symposium. An NRA Life member, he also supports the NRA Youth Hunter Education Challenge and NRA Women's Leadership Forum.

Goldschlager is also a leader outside of the NRA. He is an active member in his synagogue and a staunch advocate of gun rights within the Jewish community. A Life member of SCI, he sits on the boards of the Mzuri Wildlife Foundation, Mzuri Safari Club, St. Francis Yacht Club and Rich Island Duck Club. He is a past board member and founder of Air Ambulance, Inc., and a past board member of the Bay Area Chapter of SCI. Goldschlager is an active supporter of the arts and education, and is, of course, a leader in the medical community—and that is just the beginning.

Dr. Arnold W. Goldschlager is a leader among men, and has found within himself the heart of a hunter.